I wonder what it was … (or, “Yet another good use for military aircraft”)
We live about 4 miles south of Nashville International Airport. This means that anything taking of on runway 2R (or 2L for that matter, but 2R is the longer) points its exhaust cans right at us. Surprisingly I never hear them taking off until they are overhead. I can hear the ANG Hercy Birds ground taxiing but other than that seldom hear anything on the ground.
I couldn’t sleep last night, just tossing and turning. About 11:30 I hear this thunderous roar. It had to be military, nothing civilian thunders like that, not even Lear Jets. I heard it spool up, pause, then head down the runway (slight down Doppler!). Then, about the time he would have broken ground, in just a couple of seconds it faded to nothing. He either turned the buckets away from me or started going straight up.
It was a great sleep aid … that’s the last thing I remember!
I guess that’s always a possibility. I must admit that I hadn’t thought of it [:)]
We did have an F-14 fall a few years back. He took off on 20L and impacted about a mile from my house. A long, sad story, and naturally the pilot got the blame for it.
No, I didn’t! Maybe I need to run back home and see if there’s a fighter in my front yard.
Awwwww, I looked when I got home and it isn’t here. I bet you’re right though. I bet it was here and the Navy just came and got it while I was at work[:p] That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
No earthly idea what it was, Mike. All I’m pretty sure of is that it wasn’t civilian. I’ve heard everything from 747’s down blow out of that airport, but I’ve never heard anything that loud (especially late at night) that faded that fast. It was beautiful [:p]
There isn’t a lot of military stuff in and out, but there is some. A friend of a friend works there and said that there were even some Tupolevs in there a couple of months ago (she didn’t know the model) ferrying stuff to Iraq.
Don’t forget a change in wind direction may also dramatically affect the sound levels you hear. I live in Rotterdam in a situation not unlike yours, a few kilometers east of the civilian airport (only one runway, which runs east-west). If the wind’s strong and westerly, I hear even the smallest civilian jets run up the engines short of the runway. If it’s from the east, I only hear the planes once they’re practically over my house (obviously having taken off in the other direction, into the wind). If it’s really gusty, I hear these ‘blurbs’ of noise, as the wind picks up.
I figured I’d add another theory for you to contemplate. Gotta say the JAG collecting the F-14 while you were at work- theory sounds most likely though.[:D]
BNA is a ghost town after about 10:00 (thanks in part to people who bought houses near the airport complaining about the noise [%-)] I’ve flown in here late at night and it’s almost as if the controllers were glad to have someone to talk to for a little while. I could sort of visualize them giving him clearance for takeoff and “Unlimited climb to xxxx feet at pilot’s discretion”
Good point, but around here in August we’d pay for a gust of wind. It’s hot and humid and there is seldom a breath of air moving unless there is a thunderstorm. At night it is just dead calm most of the time.
Wonder if they’d give it back if I sent them a nasty letter accusing them of coming in while I was at work and stealing my F-14 that I’m pretty sure fell in my yard.[;)]
I’m glad to hear you’re not bothered by your local airport. When I was aviation writer at the Houston Chronicle, the irate “noise complaint” callers would be routed to me constantly. After I left them rant on a few minutes about the unbearable noise overhead from Houston Hobby or Intercontinental airports, I’d ask, “When did you move into your house?” Inevitably, it would be in the past couple of years. In other words, they bought houses knowing they were right under the departure path of a major airport, but now they expected the airport not to fly airplanes over their new house. People tend to get so excited about getting a good deal on a house, they don’t stop to ask why it’s selling so cheaply.
All major airports are required by the EPA or the FAA, I’m not sure which, to develop a “noise footprint” for the area around the airport. It is a map showing how many deciibels the loudest airplane will put out at a half-mile, a mile and so forth, and the map makes a distinctive pattern showing this footprint. Anyone considering buying near an airport would be advised to get sucha footprint map, and to buy a house outside the footprint if they can’t take the noise. Especially if they’re thinking of living near an airport that operates freighter flights all night long. Of course, people like Scott, myself, and just about everyone else on this site consider jet “noise” to be the most beautiful music on earth. Even in Music City.
The F-14 crack reminds me of that old joke in Germany when the Luftwaffe started flying the F-104:
“How do you get your own Starfighter?”
“Buy an acre of land and wait a couple of days.”
Nope, it doesn’t bother me at all. In fact I don’t consider it to be noise, but, as you said, more musical.
It’s the same here. BNA is surrounded by subdivisions and back in the 80’s they were beseiged by noise complaints. They finally were ordered to implement a program to provide noise insulation and enhancements to many of the houses in the flight paths at no charge to the homeowners.
The airport has been here since the 40’s and people just suddenly decided to start complaining about the noise? It all started with one person in one subdivision who had just bought his house and decided he didn’t like the noise. It never ceases to amaze me that people can be so stupid.
I guess this pilot was just doing as ordered, getting up high as quickly and as close in to the airport as possible. Some planes just happen to be capable of going straight up, of course they make a lot of racket doing it [:D]
A buddy who used to sell planes said the same thing about the Mitsu MU-2B. Want one? Just hang around the airport for a day or so and one will fall right into your lap.
Let me think on this … I’ll come up with something. Anybody got a good model of an F-14 I can borrow?
I can completely relate to that. Air Force brat for 17 years, hehe.
When we lived on Clark AFB in the Phillipines our house was not very far from the end of the runway. Horrible spot to setup camp. We were only able to use electricity during certain hours of the day. I don’t miss the place.
Eventually you just become desensitized to military aircraft 500 feet over your house all day. We even had to pack up my moms glass animal collection. Jets were notorious for vibrating objects off shelves.
Jet noise - the sound of freedom! I grew up on SAC bases. Our house at Upper Heyford, England, was just across the fence from the flight line. You should have heard the racket that 40 or so B-47s could make. Especially during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The aircraft noise never bothered me, but the alert sirens would sure wake you up! Yowee!